Writing instrument



F. T. JOHMANN WRITING INSTRUMENT Feb. l, 1966 Filed April so, 1964 FIG.- 3

2 Sheeas-Sheei l Feb. l, 1966 F. T. JOHMANN WRITING INSTRUMENT 2 Sheets-Sheell 2 Filed April 20, 1964 INVENTOR United States Patent O 3,232,278 WRITING INSTRUMENT Frank T. Johrnann, 49 Hampton Drive, Berkeley Heights, NJ. Filed Apr. 2t), 1964, Ser. No. 363,327 4 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-42.03)

This application is a continuation-impart of my forfeited prior U.S. application Ser. No. 110,103, tiled May 15, 1961, entitled Writing Instrument, now abandoned.

This invention relates to writing instruments. Particularly, the invention relates to improvements in tip-actuated ballpoint writing instruments and in ballpoint writing instruments wherein the writing point is spring loaded.

Writing instruments are known which are tip-actuated, i.e. the writing point is either exposed for writing use or concealed for carrying, by pressing the writing tip end of the instrument into contact with a rigid surface followed by releasing said writing tip end from said contact. Instruments of this type which have been devised include a casing, a hood, and a writing point. In one type of such instruments, a retraction-protraction system is provided for moving the writing point between a protracted position where it extends through said hood and a retracted position where said writing point is held retracted Within said hood. In another type of such instruments, the hood itself is either retracted or protracted to respectively expose or conceal the writing point. In both of these types of instruments, a spring is provided for urging the writing point outwardly relative to the casing, i.e. the writing point is spring loaded. This spring has to exert sufiicient pressure upon the writing point to maintain the writing point extended against normal writing pressure. If this spring is relatively weak, then during normal writing use, the resiliently mounted writing point will give slightly under pressure. This is desirable since it cushions the writing point and makes for smoother and less tiring writing. However, when a large pressure is exerted upon the writing point as in making several carbon copies, and particularly if the writ-ing instrument is held at an angle of about 75 angular degrees or more to the writing surface, the writing point will tend to move inwardly into its hood to an undesirable extent. This latter tendency can be corrected, or at least partially alleviated, by use of a stronger spring pressure against the writing point. Gn the other hand, a stronger spring pressure in turn eliminates, or at least partially eliminates, the aforementioned advantage of a cushioned point during normal writing use when no carbon copies are being made. In addition, a stronger spring pressure makes the retract-protraction system more difficult to operate in that greater exertion is required to retract or protract the instrument than is required in an instrument having a weaker spring member urging the point outward. Furthermore, -in general, the stronger the spring pressure, the greater the wear on various parts of the retraction-protraction system, the stronger and more expensive various parts of the retraction-protraction system have to be and the greater the clotting effect.

This clotting effect occurs in tip-acutation of ballpoint instruments where the ballpoint, particularly if covered with fresh wet ink, leaves a dot on the writing surface when the instrument is retracted or protracted. The size and visibility of the dot is primarily a function of the force existing between the writing paper and the ballpoint. This force, in turn, depends upon the spring pressure exerting the ballpoint outwardly relative to its casing. The greater this spring pressure, the larger and more visible the ink dots formed on the writing paper during retraction and protraction.

It is thus seen, that a Weak spring pressure upon the 3,232,278 Patented Feb. 1, 1966 ice writing point is generally desirable, although undesirable when making carbon copies. In the present invention, various systems are presented whereby the spring pressure urging the writing point outwardly relative to the casing can be greatly lessened, or as in one embodiment of the invention, can even be completely eliminated. At the same time, a large pressure can be exerted upon the writing point during writing to facilitate mak-ing carbon copies, provided that the instrument is held at an angle to the vertical. In one embodiment of the invention, a positive lock or stop is provided for limiting the inward movement of the writing point relative t-o the casing when the instrument is held in writing position. However, when the instrument is held substantially vertical, or at a relatively slight angle from vertical, the instrument can be readily actuated by pressing the writing point inwardly relative to the barrel for either a retraction or protraction operation. In another embodiment of the invent-ion gripping means are provided for increasing the resistance of the writing point to rearward movement when writing. In still another embodiment of the invention, the writing point is offset at an angle to the main body of the instrument to lessen the rearward thrust of said point relative to the instrument casing. In yet another embodiment, a second spring resisting the rearward movement of the point becomes operative when writing at an angle and inoperative when the pen is held vertically. Various other aspects and advantages are included in the present invention which are related, not only to tip action instruments, but also other instruments having a spring-loaded point, as will later be described.

The invention will be further understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and following description which include a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, of a writing instrument of the invention in which the retraction-protraction mechanism operates upon the hood, wherein the writing point is in a concealed position, and a stop is in an inoperative position.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, of the instrument of FIGURE 1 in a writing position at an angle of approximately 30 degrees to the writing surface, wherein the point has been exposed for Writing use and the stop is in an operative position.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 3 3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional side view taken along the lines 5 5 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, of another Writing instrument of the invention which is similar' to that of FIGURES 1 to 5 but in which no spring is provided for engaging the writing member.

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, of another embodiment of the present invention having a retraction-protraction system operable both by pushbutton action and by tip-action, and wherein gripping means are provided proximate the lower end of the instrument for increasing the resistance of the writing point against inward movement when writing at an angle to the vertical.

FIGURE 8 is a schematic diagram wherein the latch members of FIGURE 7 have been developed into a single plane and the various positions of the locking ball during the retraction-protraction cycle is indicated by the small circles and adjacent numerals.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary View of the lower end of the embodiment of FIGURE 7 when in a writing position.

FIGURE 10 is a longitudinal View, partly in section, of

still another writing instrument of the invention in which the writing point is offset at an angle to the main body of the instrument so as to lessen the amount of axial thrust when using the instrument for writing.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the lines 11-11 of FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 12-12 of FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 13 13 of FIGURE l0.

FIGURE 14 is a cross-sectional View taken along the lines 14-14 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary view, partly in crosssection, of a modification of the embodiment of FIG- URE 6.

FIGURE 16 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of a modification of the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 5 in a vertical position.

FIGURE 17 shows the modification of FIGURE 16 in a tilted writing position.

Reference is now made to the drawings in detail with particular reference to the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 5. Here, the casing includes upper and lower tubular barrel sections 20 and 21 respectively, joined together by threaded engagement with the tubular plug 22.

The bore extending through the lower portion of the tubular member 21 is twice reduced to form the interior annular lips 23 and 24. A tubular hood 25, is longitudinally movable within the lower portion of the barrel section 21. A spacer sleeve 26, is fixed to the inner portion of said hood 25, while fixed to said spacer sleeve 26, are the latch members 27 and 28. The lower latch member 27 is formed with the upwardly projecting teeth 29 and 30. The tooth 29' has a tapered side 29 and a tapered side 29, while the tooth 31) has the sides 30 and 30". The upper latch member 28 is formed with the downwardly projecting teeth 31 and 32 which are radially offset from the upwardly projecting teeth 29 and 30. The tooth 31 has the sides 31 and 31", while the tooth 32 has the sides 32 and 32". The teeth 29, 30, 31 and 32 form an endless camway. A latch ball 33 is retained against longitudinal move-ment by the annular lip 23 and a ring 34 fixed to the casing member 21 above said lip 23 to thereby define an annular recess 35. The ball 33 is movable within said recess 35 around the longitudinal axis of the writing instrument, being transversely retained between the inner wall of the barrel section 21 and the spacer sleeve 26.

L-ongitudinally movable within the hood 25, is a ballpoint cartridge unit 36 having the flange or attened portion 37, a feed tube 38 and the writing ball 39.

A rst coil compression spring 40, encircling a portion of the cartridge unit 36 is disposed between the threaded tubular connecting plug 22 and the flange 37. A second coil compression spring 41, also encircling a portion of said unit 36, is disposed between the flange 37 and the upper end of the hood unit 25. The rst spring 40 urges the cartridge unit 36 downwardly relative to the casing, while the spring 41 urges the cartridge unit 36 upwardly against the pressure of spring 40 while urging the hood downwardly to an extended position.

A stop unit 42 is pivotally suspended within the upper portion of the barrel section 20. The unit 42 includes a tubular lower portion 43, having an upper closing wall 44 formed with a bore 45. A suspending member 46 has its lower end xed within the bore 45, while its upper end passes through the aperture 47 in the ring 48 and terminates in the spherical end portion 49 disposed within the short bore 50 formed in the closed upper end 51 of the member 20. The end portion 49 loosely seats atop the ring 48. The ring 48, in turn, is fixed as by gluing or frictional engagement, against the inner end wall 52. Since the stop unit 42 is pivotally suspended, it will assume a vertical position under the force of gravity when the instrument is vertical, as in FIGURE 1.

Cil

If desired, the portion 43 can be made of metal so as to give it a relatively heavy weight so as to be more responsive to the influence of gravity. In its vertical position, the bore 53 is axially aligned with the cartridge unit 36. However, when the instrument is held in writing position, as in FIGURE 2, where the longitudinal axis of the instrument is at a substantial angle to the vertical, then the member 42 will pivot about its ball portion 49 due to gravity, until the lower edge of the tubular portion 43 will rest against the inner side wall of the barrel section 2) as indicated at the number 54 in FIGURE 2. This tilted position of the stop unit 42 relative to the instrument casing will result in the portion 55 of the bottom rim of the stop unit 42 being in axial alignment with the upper end of said .cartridge unit 36 so as to limit the inward, i.e. upward, movement of the cartridge unit 36 relative to the instrument casing.

The operation of the instrument of FIGURES l to 5 will now be described. The writing point 39 is exposed for writing use by holding the instrument substantially vertically against a rigid surface 56 and then pressing the instrument downwardly. By this action, the hood 25 and then the ballpoint 39 will be forced upwardly relative to the barrel 20-21 against the pressure of springs 40 and 41. Since the stop unit 42 is axially aligned with the cartridge unit 36, then as retractive axial pressure on the writing ball 39 forces the unit 35 upwardly against the spring pressure, the smaller diameter upper end of said unit 36 oan freely pass into the larger diameter bore 53. Meanwhile, as the hood 25 moves upwardly relative to casing section 21, the tooth side 29 comes into contact with latch ball 33. Further upward movement of the hood 25 causes the tooth side 29 to exert a wedging effect on the ball 33 causing said ball to circumferentially shift in its annular recess 35 until the tooth side 30 engages said ball 33. This engagement limits the upward movement of the hood 25. The instrument is then lifted up from contact with the rigid surface 56. The springs 40 and 41 then urge the cartridge unit 36 and hood unit 25 downwardly relative to the casing 20-21. As the hood 25 moves downwardly, it carries the tooth side 32' into contact with the ball 33. This engagement results in further wedging the ball 33 around its groove 35 until it comes into contact with the tooth side 31 where it locks the hood 25 .in a retracted position to thereby expose the writing point 39. Since the inner end of hood 25 is now raised higher within the oasing than before, the spring 41 is also raised within the casing. A balance is reached between the opposing pressure of springs 40 and 41 with the net result that the cartridge unit 36 is shifted slightly upward within the casing. However, even though both the hood 25 and cartrdge unit 36 are positioned higher within the casing than before, the hood is retracted considerably more than the cartridge unit so that the writing ball 39 is exposed for writing. The instrument is now ready for writing. When the instrument is pressed down at an angle for writing against the writing surface S6', as in FIGURE 2, it will be seen that a small degree of inward movement of the cartridge unit 36 relative to the instrument oasing is permitted against `the pressure of spring 40. Thus, the writing point 39 is cushioned against normal writing pressure. However, when the writing point 39 is pressed very hard against the surface 56', as in making carbon copies, the cartridge unit 36 will move inwardly, i.e. rearwardly, into the casing until its inner end contacts the edge 55 of the stop unit 42. The stop unit 42 will then move slightly rearwardly until its ball portion 49 engages Iagainst the end wall 51. At this point, all rearward movement is completely stopped, regardless of how much pressure is exerted in pressing the writing point 39 into contact with the surface 56'.

To return the instrument to a hood extended position, the instrument is held sufciently vertically so that the bore 53 of the stop unit 42 is again aligned for entrance of the cartridge unit 36. Then the lower end of the inlullliwllillll strument is pressed down into contact against a rigid surrface. This will force, rst the Ipoint 39, :and then the hood 25, upwardly into the barrel against the pressure of springs 40 and 41. The cartridge unit 36 is thereby lifted upwardly and its upper end will again enter into bore 53. Meanwhile, the hood in moving upwardly will carry the tooth side into contact with the latch ball 33, to thereby wedge said ball partly :around its groove 35. Upon lifting the instrument from contact with the aforesaid rigid surface, the cartridge unit 36 will begin to re- -turn to its normally extending position under the iniiuence of spring 40. As the cartridge unit 36 moves downwardly, the hood 25 will also move downwardly under the action of the springs 40 and 4I. In moving downwardly, the hood 25 carries the tooth side 31 into contact with the latch ball 33, thus wedging the hall 33 to its original position as shown in FIGURE 1, whereupon the entire i11- strument assumes the position of FIGURE l.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 6 is similar 4to that of FIGURES 1 to 5 with the main exception that no spring pressure is directed against the cartridge unit. Specifically, the cartridge unit 36' has fixed to it an annular flange d0, which 'loosely seats under the force of gravity atop the ring 61 fixed to the casing section 21'. A conical coil spring 62 has one end seated against the underside of ring d1, while its outer end seats atop the hood unit 25. It will be apparent that the hood 25 can be lretracted or protracted so as to respectively expose or shield the writing point 39 in the same manner that was described with reference to the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 5. When the writing instrument of FIGURE 6 is brought into a writing position similiar to that of FIGURE 2, `the stop unit 42 will function to limit the upward or rearward movement of the cartridge unit 35. However, when the instrument is brought to a substantially vertical position, then the cartridge unit 36' can move upwardly into the 'bore 53 so as to permit operation of the retraction-protraction system.

One advantage of the embodiment of FIGURE 6 over the embodiment of FIGURES l to 5 is that by eliminating spring pressure on the cartridge unit 36', less pressure is required to retract or protract the hood 25 since only the pressure of spring 62 need be overcome. Another advantage of the embodiment of FIGURE 6 is that substantially no clotting will occur when the instrument is retracted or protracted. In prior tip-action ballpoint pens, the writing ball is fo-rced into contact with 1a rigid surface (generally the writing surface, i.e. paper) when the instrument is retracted or protracted. If there is ink on the ball, particularly wet ink, this will result in forming a dot on the writing surface. When the instrument of FIGURE 6 is pressed down against a surface to retract or protract the hood, its ballpoint 39' will also contact the surface. But the only pressure between the ball 39 and the surface is merely the weight of the unit 36. This weight will generally be insuiiicient to press the ball 39' into sufficient contact with the surface to transfer ink from said ballpoint to said surface. The result will be that no dot, or at the most, only a very faint dot will be formed during the retractionprotraction cycle. There is, however, a minor disadvantage with the instrument of FIGURE 6, in that since no spring pressure is exerted on the cartridge unit 35', it is therefore loose and will slightly shift back and forth in the casing during writing as the point is lifted from the writing paper between words.

FIGURES 7 t-o 9 represent another embodiment of the invention which is both tip-actuated and pushbutton actuated. Here, gripping means are positioned within the instrument to resist the inward movement of the writing point during writing use. Specifically: The casing includes upper and lower barrel members, '70 and 71 respectively, which are held together by frictional engagement with each other. Fixed within the lower end of the barrel member 7l is a sleeve 72, while fixed within the hood 73 is a second sleeve 74. The sleeves 72 and 74 are made of a material having a relatively high coefficient of friction, e.g. rubber, or any material which will resist rubbing motion. The ballpoint cartridge unit 75 has a flange 76. The coil spring 77, disposed between said flange 76 and the top of said hood 73, urges said hood 73 downwardly while urging said cartridge unit 75 upwardly so that its upper end seats within the bore 78 of the cylindrical latch member 79. An air vent 80, extending through the member 79, permits passage of air into the ink reservoir portion of the cartridge unit 75. The member 79 is also formed with an external annular groove 31 which carries a latching ball S2. Longitudinally movable within the upper portion of the barrel section 70, is the tubular member 83 having a closed upper end 84. The pushbutton 85 extends upwardly from said end 84, passing through the bore 86 formed in the upper end of the barrel section '70. Fixed within the lower portion of the sleeve 83, are the latch members S7 and 88, which are in spaced relationship to each other. The upper latch member 87 is similar to the latch member 29 of the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 5, while the lower latch member 88 is similar to the latch member 2S of said embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 5. A coil compression spring S9 is disposed between the underside of the closing wall 84 and the top end of the cylindrical member 79, being centered by the bosses 90 and 91, respectively.

The writing point 92 can be either retracted into the hood 73 for carrying or protracted out of said hood for writing, by either depressing and releasing the pushbutton 85 or by pressing the writing tip end of the instrument into Contact with a rigid surface and then releasing from said Contact. The retraction-protraction operation will now be described in detail, with special reference to FIGURE 8. Here, the numbers within the small circles represent the various positions of the locking ball Si) relative to the developed view of the latch members 87 and S8 at various stages of the retraction-protraction cycle. Considering first tip-actuation, the instrument can be retracted from its point-protracted position of FIG- URE 7 as follows. The point 92 is pressed down against the rigid surface 93 so as to move the cylinder 79 upwardly relative to the casing and the latch members 87 and S3, and against the pressure of spring S9. This up- Ward movement will bring the latch ball 82 from its original position 1 (of FIGURE 8) into contact with the tooth surface 94 (position 2) along which the ball will move until it seats in the recess 9S (position 3). Upon lifting the point 92 from contact with said surface 93, the member '79 will move downwardly relative to the casing and members S7 and SS, under the iniluence of the spring 89. This downward movement will carry the ball 82 also downwardly until lit strikes the tooth surface 96 (position 4) along which it will move until it seats in the recess 97 (position 5). The spring 89 will then be held in a cornpressed or shortened position and the member 79 will be held higher within the casing than before. The spring 77, meantime will return the hood 73 to its normal outwardly extending position. The spring 77 will also urge the cartridge unit 75 upwardly so as to maintain its upper end seated against the cylindrical member 79. The net result is that the writing point 92. will now be concealed within the hood 73. To protract the point 92 from its retracted position, the lower end of the instrument is again pres-sed downwardly against the rigid surface 93. This time, first the hood 73 and then the point 92 together with its cartridge unit 75, will be forced upwardly relative to the casing 74)-71 against the pressureof spring 89. The cartridge unit 75 in turn moves the cylinder 79 upwardly so that its latch ball 82 is carried first to position 6 and then to position 7 (see FIGURE 8) relative to the latch member S7. Upon lifting the instrument from contact with said rigid surface, the spring 89 will expand to move the cylindrical member 79 downwardly to carry the latch ball 82 down into contact with the latch member 8 (position S) along which said ball 82 will move until it assumes position 1', which in fact is the same as position 1.

If the invention is to be push-button actuated while starting from the position of FIGURE 7, the pushbutton 85 is moved downwardly into the casing 70-71 against the pressure of spring 89, thereby carrying downwardly the sleeve 83 with its fixed latch members 87 and 88. Meantime the latch cylinder 79, along with its latch ball 82, remains longitudinally immovable due to engagement of the cylinder 79 with the cartridge unit 75. The cartridge unit 75 also is longitudinally immovable as its lower shoulder 98 seats against the hood 73, which in turn seats against the casing section 71. During this downward movement of the members 83, 85, 87 and 88, the tooth surface 94 will come into contact with the ball 82 and exert thereupon a wedging action. Upon further downward movement of said tooth surface 94, the ball 82 will be moved to a position within the recess 95 as said ball 82 partially moves around "its annular groove 81. Upon release of the pushbutton 85, the tubular member 79, along with the tubular tooth members 87 and 88, begin to move upwardly under influence of spring 89. During this upward movement, the ball 82 will be caught by the lower tooth side 956 and wedged into the recess 97. The whole assembly will then assume a point-retracted position wherein the writing point 92 is held concealed within the hood 73. Upon a subsequent depression and release of the pushbutton 85, the instrument will be returned to its original point-projecting position of FIG- URE 7 as the tubular latch members 87 and 88 move relative to the latch ball 82 through positions similar to positions 6, 7, 8 and 1 of FIGURE 8.

It will be apparent that the point 92 can be retracted or protracted by various combinations of pushbutton action and tip action. For example, the point 92 can be retracted by tip action and then protracted by pushbutton action, and Vice versa.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentaryvie'w of the lower portion of the writing instrument of FIGURES 7 and 8 when held in writing position against a writing surface 99. As downward force is exerted upon the barrel in the general direction of the arrow X, the uppermost inner side of the friction sleeve 72 is pressed into frictional engagement with the uppermost outer side of the hood member 73. In turn, the uppermost inner side of the hoods friction sleeve 74 is pressed into frictional engagement against the adjacent portion of the rigid cartridge unit 75. During writing, there will be a tendency for the point 92 to move inwardly in the direction of arrow V towards the casing. However, since the sleeves 72 and 74 are made of material having a high resistance to sliding motion, the rearwardly directed force on the cartridge unit 75 indicated by the arrow X is resisted by the frictional engagement of the sleeve 74 against the lower end of said cartridge unit thereby bringing into operation the resistance of the spring 77 against compression. Also, the hood 73 resists rearward movement, due to frictional engagement of Iits outer topmost side against the sleeve 72, fixed to the casing section 71. It is thus seen that considerable downward pressure in the direction of the arrow X may be exerted upon the writing point 90, without undue rearward movement of said point 92, because of the employment of the friction engendering sleeves 72 and 74. Yet, when the instrument is to be retracted and held substantially vertical as in FIGURE 7, or when the downwardly exerted pressure indicated by arrow X is removed, the members 73 and 75 become freely slidable within the respective sleeves 72 and 74.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGURES 10 to 14. Here, the writing point is offset at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the writing instrument. This permits the transmission of a greater pressure from the writing point to the writing surface during writing use than if the writing point was longitudinally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the instrument. This embodiment also illustrates an instrument which is tip-acuated, squeeze-actuated and bending-actuated. More speciically: The casing members and 101 are held together by frictional engagement. The member 101, and optionally the member 10i), is constructed of a flexible plastic material such as polypropylene, nylon, mixtures of polypropylene and polyethylene, rubber, etc. Any material can be used for the casing provided it possesses a high degree of resiliency so that the lower casing member 101 will bend or be capable of being squeezed inwardly, and at the same time will readily return to its original position when the bending or squeezing stresses are released. The cartridge unit 102 includes the small diameter feed tube 103, the lower portion of said feed tube 103 being bent at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the main portion of the cartridge unit. The writing ball 104 is carried in the outer end of said tube 103. rl`he hood unit 105 is formed in its upper portion with a relatively large diameter bore 106 which is tapered inwardly to an elliptical cross-section in the lower end ofvsaid hood. Also, the upper periphery of said hoed 105 is round, while the periphery of its lower portion if elliptical. A conical coil spring 107, is disposed between the cartridge unit ange 108 and the top of the hood 105. The spring 107 urges the cartridge unit 102 upwardly, while urging the hood unit 105 downwardly so that the lower end of said hood unit normally projects through the lower open end or the barrel section 101. The upper end of the tubular cartridge unit 102 is frictionally engaged within the bore 109 formed in the cylindrical latch member 110. A pair of opposed ears 111 project outwardly from the lower end of the cylindrical member into longitudinally extending slots 112 formed in the barrel section 10i). An annular groove 113, formed in said member 110, carries the locking ball 114. Fixed within the barrel section 100 are the latch members and 116. A coil compression spring 117, centered by the bosses 113 and 119, urges said latch member 110 downwardly relative to the instrument casing and against the pressure of the conical spring 107. Fixed to the rigid cartridge unit 102 is a rigid cone-shaped member 120. An annular elastic ring 121 is fixed to the barrel section 101 adjacent the conc-shaped member 120. The annular ring 121 is formed with a tapered inner edge 122. A pocket clip 123, which is shown as partly broken away, is fixed to the casing side which is opposite the casing side adjacent the writing ball 104. In other words, the clip 123 is 180 degrees olifset from the ball 104 when viewing the instrument from the top. The locking ball 114 interacts with the latch members 115 and 116, upon relative reciprocal longitudinal movement, in the same manner that the locking ball 82 interacts with the latch members 87 and 88 of the embodiment of FIGURES 7 to 9. This longitudinal movement may be imparted to the latch ball 114, by tip-action, squeezing action or bending action. By tip-action, the writing ball 104 is pressed into contact with a rigid surface so as to force the ball 104 inwardly relative to the barrel 100-101, and then released from said contact. By squeezing action, opposite sides of the tiexible casing 101 are squeezed together at a point adjacent the annular ring 121. This forces the beveled edge 122 into contact with the rigid cone-shaped member fixed to the rigid cartridge unit 102. By this squeezing action, the cone-shaped member 120 and the cartridge unit 102 will be forced upwardly against the pressure of spring 117. Upon release of the squeezing pressure, the elastic barrel section 101, and the elastic annular ring 121, will resume their original unstressed shape. As the members 101 and 120 assume their original shape, the cone-shaped member 120 will move downwardly as the spring 117 transmits its expansive force to the cartridge unit 102. Bending action is achieved by the bending the lower portion of the casing relative to the upper portion of the casing to force one side of the ring 122 into contact with the conical member 120 and thereby wedge the member 12) upwardly against the pressure of spring 117. Upon relief of the bending stress, the casing will return to its original unbent position and the cartridge unit 102 will be forced downwardly under the influence of spring 117. Reciprocal longitudinal movement of the cartridge unit 1132 relative to the casing achieved in any of the above ways is effective in moving the locking ball 114 longitudinally relative to the latch members 115 and 116. Thus, the locking ball can be alternatingly positioned within the upper recess 124 of the latch receiving member 116 to obtain the writing point 104 in a retracted position, or within the lower recess as is illustrated in FIGURE l where the writing point 104 is in a protracted position.

In writing use, the instrument of FIGURES l0 to 14 is held at a normal writing angle to a horizontal writing surface with the ball 104 contacting said surface and the clip 123 in a top-most position. A large degree of force can be exerted in pressing the writing ball 104- into contact with the writing surface because the point 104 is offset from the longitudinal axis of the instrument, thus reducing the relative amount of inward force urging the writing point 164 rearwardly into its hood 10S.

FIGURE 15 illustrates how a weak inverted conical compression spring 125 can be added to the embodiment of FIGURE 6, encircling the cartridge unit 36 and having its lower end seated atop the ange 6i) and its upper end seated against a ring 126 fixed within the upper barrel section. This wer-.k spring will eliminate the previously mentioned play of the cartridge unit 36 relative to the casing during writing use as the instrument is lifted from the writing surface between words. At the same time by making the spring 125 very weak, it will be insuicient to withstand normal writing pressure, rather the member 42' (see FGURE 6) would be depended upon to prevent undue inward movement of the cartridge unit 36 relative to the casing during writing use as hereinbefore described.

FIGURES l5 and 17 represent a modification of the upper end of the pen of FIGURES l to 5, or of FIG- URE 6, wherein a -coil spring means includes helical coil spring 131B having its upper closing coil 131 fixed to the barrel 132, while the lower closing coil 133 of said spring is fixed to the tubular metal member 134. In FIGURE 16, when the pen is held vertically, the cartridge unit 135 can pass through the bore 136 of said spring means so to permit the easy retraction or projection of the pen point. However, when the pen is titled into writing position as shown in FIGURE 17, the lower free end of the coil spring means bends downwardly under the weight of member 134. Then, if the cartridge 135 is moved upwardiy, its upper end will engage annular edge 137 of member 134 and begin to compress spring 13), said spring means thereby resisting further inward movement of cartridge unit 135.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 16 and 17, a strong stiff spring will of course offer more resistance to the cartridge than a weaker spring. Also, by controlling the length and stiffness of the spring, the member 134 can be shifted towards a side of the tilted barrel or casing so as to be in a position to engage the ballpoint pen cartridge, but at the same time not touch the side of the barrel. In this way, there is no knocking noise engendered when writing due to bumping of member 134 against the sides of the barrel. Another advantage of this spring modification is that the writer can operate the retraction mechanism by using above-normal force, even when the pen is in the tilted position of FIGURE 17 and spring 130 is resisting the inward, i.e. upward, movement of the cartridge. Thus, in the event that the writer fails to hold the pen sufficiently vertical to obtain alignment of bore 13d with the upper end of cartridge 135 as in FIGURE 16, the retraction-protraction mechanism can still be op-v erated. On the other hand, the embodiment of FIGURES l to 5 gives a positive -lock -so that -if the pen is not held 10 sufficiently vertical the retraction-protraction mechanism cannot be operated.

While the preceding description and the drawings illustrate several variations of the present invention, other variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the embodiment of FIGURES 7 to 9 can be modified to fix the hood 73 in the casing section 71 so as to make the instrument operable by pushbutton action only. Or, the pushbutton of the embodiment of FIGURES 7 to 9 can be eliminate-d and the upper end of the instrument casing can be closed so as to make the embodiment of FIGURES 7 to 9 operable only by tip-action. Or, the retracted hood 25 of FIGURE 2 can be fixed to the casing section 21 so that the instrument is non-retractable but has a spring loaded Writing point 39. Another variation would be to make the friction sleeves 72 and 74, of the embodiment of FIGURES 7 to 9, integral with the barrel section 71 and the hood 73, respectively. This could be done by then making the entire hood 73, and the entire barrel section '71, of friction engendering materials, i.e. materials having a high resistance to rubbing motion. These and other minor variations can be made in the present invention.

The present description and drawings have been directed to a ball or pawl as the latch and to the tubular ratchet toothed member having a deep longitudinally extending recess and a shallow longitudinally extending recess as the latch receiving means. This system is 0perable upon relative reciprocal longitudinal movement of the latch and latch receiver. Latching systems of this general type are preferred because of their smoothness of operation and simplicity. However, there are a number of various latch and latch receiving means known to the art and which are operable in the present invention. Thus, any retraction-protraction mechanism or latching system can be used wherein the latch and latch receiver are alternatingly engaged in a latching position and then disengaged from said latching position, upon succeeding relative longitudinal movement of said latch and latch receiver.

In sum, the present invention relates to a writing instrument having a writing point which tends to recede inwardly into the casing when the point of said instrument is pressed under writing pressure at a writing angle against writing surface. Means are provided for resisting this inward movement which become operable when the instrument, for example, is in writing use at a writing angle (eg. 30 to 75 from the horizontal) against a horizontal writing surface and which can become inoperable when the instrument is in a substantially vertical position. Such means can be used with spring loaded writing points, or can be used where only the force of gravity urges the writing point outward to the instrument casing. Such means are of particular advantage when used with tip-actuated writing instruments in providing one or more of the following: easier working retractionprotraction mechanisms, reducing dotting, facilitating the making of carbon copies, etc.

I claim:

1. In a writing pen including a casing and a writing unit wherein said writing unit is inwardly longitudinally movable relative to sai-d casing, a coil spring means defining a bore and having one end fixed Within the upper portion of said casing and a lower free end Imovable under the inuence of gravity between a position aligning said bore with the upper end of said writing unit when said pen is held vertically so that said writing unit can telescope within said bore upon longitudinal inward movement, and a position whereat said, lower end of said coil spring means is abuttingly engageable with said upper end of said writing unit upon longitudinal inward movement of said writing unit when said pen is tilted from a vertical position to a writing position on a horizontal writing surface.

2. A tip-actuated retractable writing instrument comprising a barrel having upper and lower ends, a hood member carried by said barrel having a lower end longitudinally movable relative to said lower end of said barrel, a ballpoint writing member having a writing point at its lower end, a retraction-protraction mechanism including a latch unit and a latch receiver unit, one of said units being held by said barrel and the other of said units being `carried by one of said members, said units being shiftable relative one another between a point-exposed position and a point-concealed position upon pressing said lower end of said hood member and saidk point into contact with a rigid surface to move said lower end of said hood member and said writing point inwardly relative to said barrel and then releasing said lower end of said hood member and said point from said contact, said units when in a point-exposed position being operable to obtain said writing point projected through the lower end of said hood, said units when in a point-concealed position being operable to obtain said writing point concealed within said hood, and a gravity-actuated holding means having an upper end mounted within said barrel and a lower portion defining a bore concentric with said writing member when said instrument is in a vertical position, said lower portion also defining an annular edge, said holding means moving relative to said barrel under gravity to a holding position wherein said annular edge is aligned for engagement with said writing member to resist inward movement of said writing member and its writ-ing point relative to said barrel when said point is in a point-exposed position and said instrument is held at a writing angle against a horizontal writing surface, said holding means moving relative to said barrel under the influence of gravity to a non-holding position when said instrument is held in a vertical position with said writing point down whereby said writing member can telescope within said bore to thereby permit inward movement of said Writing member and its point relative to said barrel to permit shifting of said units between said positions.

3. A tip-actuated retractable writing instrument comprising a barrel having upper and lower ends, a hood member carried by said barrel having a lower end longitudinally movable relative to said lower end of said barrel, a ballpoint writing member having a writing point at its lower end, a retraction-protraction mechanism including a latch unit and a latch receiver unit, one of said units being held by said barrel and the other of said units being carried by one of said members, said units being shiftable relative one another between a point-exposed position and a point-concealed position upon pressing said lower end of said hood member and said point into contact with a rigid surface to move said lower end of said hood member and said writing point inwardly relative to said barrel and then releasing said lower end of said hood member and said point from said contact, said units when in a point-exposed position being operable to obtain said writing point projected through the lower end of said hood, said units when in a point-concealed position being operable to obtain said writing point concealed within said hood, and a gravity-actuated holding means having an upper end -pivotably mounted within said barrel on the axis of said barrel and a lower tubular portion defining a bore concentric with said writing member when said instrument is in a vertical position, said lower tubular portion also defining an annular edge, said holding means pivoting relative to said barrel under gravity to a holding position wherein said annular edge is aligned for engagement with said writing member to resist inward movement of said writing member and its writing point relative to said barrel when said point is in a point-exposed position and said instrument is held at a writing angle against a horizontal writing surface, said holding means pivoting relative to said barrel under the inuence of gravity to a non-holding position when said instrument is held in a vertical position with said writing point down whereby said writing member can telescope within said bore to thereby permit inward movement of said writing member and its point relative to said barrel to permit shifting of said units between said positions.

4. A writing instrument according to claim 3, wherein said holding means is rigid.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,757,639 8/ 1956 Wichmann 1Z0-42.03 2,857,882 10/1958 Forster 1Z0-42.03 2,988,054 6/1961 Yates l20-42.03 2,989,032 6/1961 Bross 1Z0-42.03 3,000,352 9/1961 Grube et al 1Z0-42.1 3,004,520 10/ 1961 Kersten et al 1Z0-42.03

FOREIGN PATENTS 205,000 12/ 1956 Australia. 1,175,076 11/ 1958 France.

88,655 9/1896 Germany.

512 1891 Great Britain. 19,269 1889 Great Britain.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

JEROME SCHNALL, Examiner. 

1. IN A WRITING PEN INCLUDING A CASING AND A WRITING UNIT WHEREIN SAID WRITING UNIT IS INWARDLY LONGITUDINALLY MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID CASING, A COIL SPRING MEANS DEFINING A BORE AND HAVING ONE END FIXED WITHIN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID CASING AND A LOWER FREE END MOVABLE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY BETWEEN A POSITION ALIGNING SAID BORE WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID WRITING UNIT WHEN SAID PEN IS HELD VERTICALLY SO THAT SAID WRITING UNIT CAN TELESCOPE WITHIN SAID BORE UPON LONGITUDINAL INWARD MOVEMENT, AND A POSITION WHEREAT SAID LOWER END OF SAID COIL SPRING MEANS IS ABUTTINGLY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID UPPER END OF SAID WRITING UNIT UPON LONGITUDINAL INWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID WRITING UNIT WHEN SAID PEN IS TILTED FROM A VERTICAL POSITION TO A WRITING POSITION ON A HORIZONTAL WRITING SURFACE. 